Set Up an Ansible Practice Lab with Docker in Under 10 Minutes
Learn how to build a local, multi-host Ansible practice lab using Docker in under 10 minutes. Perfect for Windows, macOS, or Linux. No heavy VMs required.
Meet EkkoJS: The JavaScript Runtime That Doesn't Apologise for Starting Fresh
EkkoJS is a JavaScript and TypeScript runtime that trades backward compatibility for a cleaner slate. No CommonJS, no node_modules, no URL imports. This is a hands-on introduction covering the architecture, the permission model, and a working S3 demo built entirely from built-in modules.
Deploying Azure locally with OpenTofu and floci-az: my real test run
A practical walkthrough of running the OpenTofu azurerm provider against floci-az, including TLS, certificate trust, provider discovery, version notes, and what local Azure testing can and cannot prove.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 8 - Terraform, tflocal, and GitHub Actions CI)
Provision the LocalStack stack from Parts 1-7 with Terraform, apply it with tflocal, and run integration tests in GitHub Actions CI. The capstone turns the series into a repeatable, tested workflow.
Run Your Own AI at Home and Access It Anywhere with LM Studio and LM Link
Run an AI model on your home PC or homelab with LM Studio, connect it with LM Link, and use it from an iPhone, iPad, laptop, or work PC without opening ports.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 7 - Secrets Manager, KMS, and Secret Rotation)
Store API keys properly on LocalStack with Secrets Manager and a customer-managed KMS key. Build a Lambda that reads the secret at request time, rotate it, and watch the new value go live without a redeploy.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 6 - EventBridge and Step Functions Photo Workflow)
Build a real Step Functions workflow on LocalStack: validate, fan out across parallel Lambdas, then notify via SNS. Trigger it manually, then wire it to an EventBridge schedule and watch it fire automatically.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 5 - SQS, SNS, and a Dead-Letter Queue)
Build a real async job pipeline on LocalStack with an SNS topic, an SQS queue, and a DLQ. Watch a poison message retry three times, land in the DLQ, and inspect what to do next.
Floci and Local AWS Emulation: A Tool I’m Curious to Try
After using LocalStack for years and publishing the first four parts of my local AWS series, Floci caught my eye: MIT licensed, no account required, and built around the same localhost:4566 workflow.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 4 - API Gateway, Lambda, and JWT Auth)
Put a real HTTP API in front of the URL shortener from Part 2. API Gateway HTTP API, Lambda, a small JWT authoriser, and curl-based verification running on LocalStack.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 3 - Lambda S3 Thumbnailer Pipeline)
Wire Lambda to S3 upload events on LocalStack. Upload a photo, get a 256px thumbnail in another bucket automatically, and learn the `localhost.localstack.cloud` networking gotcha before it wastes an evening.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 2 - DynamoDB URL Shortener Data Layer)
Build the DynamoDB layer for a URL shortener on LocalStack: table design, atomic click counters, fixture loading, and a small Node CLI you can reuse. Part 3 detours into Lambda, then Part 4 wraps the shortener in an HTTP API.